Modulation of tactile feedback for the execution of dexterous movement

Although dexterity relies on the constant transmission of sensory information, unchecked feedback can be disruptive. Yet how somatosensory feedback from the hands is regulated and whether this modulation influences movement remain unclear. We found that mouse tactile afferents recruit neurons in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2021-10, Vol.374 (6565), p.316-323
Main Authors: Conner, James M, Bohannon, Andrew, Igarashi, Masakazu, Taniguchi, James, Baltar, Nicholas, Azim, Eiman
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Brain stem
Brain Stem - cytology
Brain Stem - physiology
Circuits
Feedback
Feedback, Sensory
Female
Male
Mice
Mice, Mutant Strains
Modulation
Motor skill
Motor Skills - physiology
Movement
Neural Inhibition
Neurons
Optogenetics
Sensory feedback
Somatosensory Cortex - physiology
Touch - physiology
Vesicular Inhibitory Amino Acid Transport Proteins - genetics
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Summary:Although dexterity relies on the constant transmission of sensory information, unchecked feedback can be disruptive. Yet how somatosensory feedback from the hands is regulated and whether this modulation influences movement remain unclear. We found that mouse tactile afferents recruit neurons in the brainstem cuneate nucleus, whose activity is modulated by distinct classes of local inhibitory neurons. Manipulation of these inhibitory circuits suppresses or enhances the transmission of tactile information, which affects manual behaviors. Top-down cortical pathways innervate cuneate in a complementary pattern, with somatosensory cortical neurons targeting the core tactile region of cuneate and a large rostral cortical population driving feed-forward inhibition of tactile transmission through an inhibitory shell. These findings identify a circuit basis for tactile feedback modulation that enables the effective execution of dexterous movement.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.abh1123